AirInSpace Raises $8.5 Million (€6 Million) in VC Financing to Expand International Market Penetration for Biodecontamination Devices Providing Elimination of Deadly Airborne Microorganisms

“Our one-of-a-kind technology platform is designed to protect hospital occupants against airborne biological pathogens and nosocomial infections. The outstanding inactivation and germicidal effects of our technology have been proven even against one of the world’s most resistant microorganisms, Bacillus atrophaeus spores (anthrax surrogate).”

Laurent Fullana, CEO, AirInSpace

ATLANTA & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AirInSpace, the leading supplier of mobile ‘catch and kill’ bioprotection devices in the French medical market, announced today that it has closed on an $8.5 million (€6 million) Series “B” round of financing.

“During our evaluation of the technology, we were very impressed by the added value delivered by the technology”

The round was led by Matignon Technologies II FCPR with Oddo AM (through FCPI Générations Futures) as a second investor. Aelios Finance served as financial advisor for the company.

“This financing not only provides key financial resources to fuel our company’s growth in the United States, Asia and Europe but also brings additional invaluable industry experience to our board of directors,” said Laurent Fullana, CEO of AirInSpace. “We are now in a position to ramp up international sales and support more hospitals all over the world with new technology that ensures safe air for better health.”

AirInSpace’s one-of-a-kind technology can significantly reduce airborne microbial contaminants. The technology initially stems from research aimed at protecting Russian cosmonauts and equipment in spacecraft. Working with several world-renowned laboratories, AirInSpace has shown that its plasma-based air treatment technology eliminates a wide range of microorganisms, including: Vaccinia virus (smallpox surrogate), Avian flu virus (H5N2), Aspergillus niger (common food contaminant), Staphylococcus aureus (agent of septicemia, Toxic shock syndrome, meningitis, endocarditis and pneumonia), Serratia marcescens (agent of urinary tract and wound infections). The outstanding inactivation and germicidal effects of the technology have been proven even against one of the world’s most resistant microorganisms: e.g., Bacillus atrophaeus spores (anthrax surrogate).

By adapting and optimizing its technology for air treatment in healthcare facilities, AirInSpace has introduced a new line of products that lowers the levels of airborne pathogens in order to reduce incidences of nosocomial infections. Adding to increased protection, AirInSpace’s solutions are also more cost-effective and flexible than traditional air-treatment technologies.

AirInSpace’s flagship product is a mobile air-decontamination unit called Plasmair™. The Plasmair™’s performance has been clinically proven to lower airborne biological loads and is now being used to combat nosocomial infection to protect patients, staff and products in high-risk areas of more than 100 hospitals and clinics throughout France, including hematology wards, ICUs, pharmacies and operating theaters.

Aircraft have also begun using this year a new Biological Decontamination Unit (BDU), based on AirInSpace technology and co-developed with an undisclosed strategic air transportation partner, to lower the risk of cross-contamination in the airline cabin and protect passengers and crew from airborne contaminates. Once again higher efficiency and operational savings are made possible through the novelty of the AirInSpace technology platform.

“During our evaluation of the technology, we were very impressed by the added value delivered by the technology,” said Dr. Thierry Chignon, Partner, Matignon Technologies. “For example, one hospital we interviewed had previously closed down one operating room that did not meet the air quality standards. In just a few days, a Plasmair unit was installed, and the operating room could be used again. The alternative for the hospital was to do massive reconstruction of its ventilation system that would have taken many months and cost much more.”

“AirInSpace offers a breakthrough technology in the biodecontamination sector validated in the medical market through extensive use by opinion leaders, international institutes and a growing base of French hospitals,” said Laurent Dumas-Crouzillac, Investment Manager at Oddo AM.

“We are determined to help AirInSpace expand its international footprint and supports reapplication opportunities in markets beyond professional healthcare, building on the successful implementation in air transportation,” added Oddo AM Investment Manager Laetitia Vuitton.

About AirInSpace

Created in 2002, the AirInSpace company offers an innovative range of products and services to address the need for microbial decontamination of air. AirInSpace is a fast-growing high-tech environmental company that has been awarded several national and international innovation awards for its superior bioprotection solutions. Laurent Fullana, the company CEO, has experience in product development, product marketing, licensing and B-to-B partnerships in the industrial and consumer goods markets, working for Procter&Gamble, Rhone Poulenc and Rhodia in Europe and the United States. He graduated from the Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Paris (MSc in Physics), obtained a MSc in Industrial Engineering at Ecole Centrale Paris, and holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School. For more information, please see www.airinspace.com, or contact the company at: [e-mail].

About Matignon Technologies

Matignon Investissement et Gestion is a Paris-based independent management company that manages four venture funds, including its new venture, Matignon Technologies II FCPR, one of the largest European funds dedicated primarily to medical technologies. For further information please see: www.matignon-gestion.fr. Contact: Dr Thierry Chignon, Tel. [phone], [e-mail].

About Oddo et Cie

Oddo et Cie is the leading private French bank, with €310 million of net banking income, over 800 staff members, €22 billion of assets under management, and €77 million euros of consolidated net income in 2006. Its five business lines are capital markets, asset management, investment banking, private banking and fund custody. Contacts: Laurent Dumas-Crouzillac, Tel. + 33 1 44 51 82 72, [e-mail] or Laetitia Vuitton, Tel. [phone], [e-mail].

About Aelios Finance

Aelios Finance is the leading French corporate finance advisory firm helping entrepreneurs and mid-cap companies to complete successful capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, LBO and IPO. For further information: www.aeliosfinance.com. Aelios Finance is also the exclusive French office of the world's largest network of M&A companies, M&A International Inc. For further information: www.mergers.net.